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Due to the importance of the information you are going to read, we decided to publish it in English while we proceed to translate it into Spanish.

This article was recently written by the well known investigative journalist Leslie Kean, author of the book "UFOSs -General, Pilots and Government officials go on the Record" New York, 2010.

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A recent high level meeting at the
headquarters of Chile's Civil Aviation Department will likely be the envy of
those Americans desiring open government participation in UFO investigations,
rather than the familiar blanket dismissal.

The question of whether UAP
(unidentified aerial phenomena) pose any danger to civilian and military air
operations was up for discussion. An official video about the
event (the first 4 minutes), posted on Friday, is telling. You don't need to
understand a word of Spanish to take note of the serious expressions on
the faces of the participants.

Chile's agency investigating
UFOs/UAP, known as the CEFAA(Committee for the Studies of Anomalous
Aerial Phenomena) is located within the Ministerial Department of Civil
Aeronautics (DGAC), the equivalent of our FAA, under the jurisdiction of the
Chilean air force.

Gen. Ricardo Bermúdez, director of
the CEFAA, invited nineteen highly qualified experts from a range of
specialties to the July 31st meeting, to explore the safety question and
attempt to achieve a conclusion. The resulting dialogue lasted three hours.

The new DGAC director, air
force Gen. Rolando Mercado, former director of operations and strategic
planning of the Joint Chiefs, welcomed the participants and attended the
early part of the discussion. "I wish to thank all the members of this
committee for their serious, scientific approach in the investigation of this
phenomenon," he said afterward, "which has rightly earned prestige
for the CEFAA, not only in Chile, but also in foreign countries."

Scientists in attendance included
two well known astronomers (each with an asteroid named after him), a nuclear
chemist from the Nuclear Energy Commission, a doctor of aerospace medicine who
is also a UN representative, a physicist, an army psychologist and an air force
psychologist.

Among the DGAC specialists were the
director of the Meteorological Observatory, the chief of Radar Operations
Metropolitan Center, the head of Accident Investigations, DGAC chief of
operations, the director of Airport Security Operations, and an aerospace
engineer.

Representatives from different
branches of the armed forces and the police corps were also present. All of
them, including a navy commander who is in charge of flight security for navy
aviation, are also pilots, or have been in the past. Along with Mercado,
Bermúdez was once a combat pilot.

The panel members were familiar with
the subject matter due to their various affiliations with the CEFAA as
advisors, committee members, and experts called upon to assist with case
investigations.

photos courtesy DGAC

Each participant had already
accepted the fact that UFOs are a real phenomenon which needs to investigated,
without question. This, alone, is unusual, as we Americans see it.

"For Chileans, this is
completely normal and we don't consider it news at all," says Jose Lay,
international affairs director for the CEFAA.

Here are excerpts from some of the
more interesting comments which helped influence the final conclusion:

DGAC chief of operations: "If, as many witnesses
have declared, the UAP demonstrates 'intelligent behavior,' and if we
admit this fact, then we must look for 'the intention behind' that
intelligence, whatever it may be -- a form of energy, perhaps -- it
doesn't matter. Intelligence is what matters. If this is so, we must ask:
has it shown hostility or carried out openly threatening maneuvers? Has it
actually attacked our aircraft? To date, this doesn't seem to be the case.
We cannot possibly call something a threat to something or someone if they
have not shown any open intention to do harm. And even less, we do not
even know their exact nature!"

Navy captain Roberto Borè, Naval Aviation: "Aside
from any natural distractions to the flight crews, the risks so far have
been null. We cannot call UAP a risk to our operations, not even a low
risk. An interaction, either good or bad, between a human being and UAP so
far is nonexistent in our skies [in Chile], as far as I know."

Radar control chief Mauricio Blanco: "In
aeronautics, we have to measure risk scientifically and we have all the
tools for that. We have to establish a 'risk matrix,' considering
possibility and probability. The risk level [for UAP] has not been
analyzed. It can be measured, and given the probabilities, this level is
very low."

Blanco is one of the highest
officials actually on the front lines when UFO sightings are reported to ground
control radar or picked up by radar, anywhere in the country. In 2012, I
interviewed him at the radar center in Santiago, and he showed me the log book
where UFO sightings are initially recorded before being sent to the CEFAA.
Reports are written by hand to assure they are not tampered with or affected by
computer transfer, and to provide a clear record of who actually wrote the
entry. As an American, I was astonished by Blanco's matter-of-fact attitude
about UFOs. It's hard to get used to the fact that UFOs are fully accepted as
part of life in Chile.

More comments from the meeting:

"DGAC expert on accident investigations:
"Until now, in practice, we have seen only the effects. And those we
have captured through photographs, videos, official reports, testimonies,
etc. And thus, we are able to say the phenomenon exists. But its origin,
we have not defined. And without this definition, we cannot establish a
strategy to counteract it. ... I have spoken with pilots who have had
sightings. So far, none has experienced undue concern, just plain
curiosity."

The nuclear chemist: "If our civilian and military
pilots are well informed about UAP, the risk due to distraction will come
down to a minimum because the surprise factor will not be there. Judging
by global statistics, the number of aircraft that have allegedly been
involved in an accident with UAP would represent a tiny fraction of the
accidents caused by birds."

The air force psychologist advised
more education for pilots -- in order to raise awareness rather than alert them
to any latent danger. Others recommended that instructions on pilot reporting
be included within aviation training courses. The scientists suggested further
multi-disciplined studies "to bring us as close to the real nature [of
UAP] as possible," stated by astronomer Luis Barrera.

The conclusion was clear.
"Based on the evaluation at the meeting, the committee concluded that UAP
do not present a threat or a danger to air operations, either civilian or
military," Bermúdez said. "Although there have been a small number of
accidents attributed to UAP around the world, none have withstood an objective
examination that presented unmistakable proof that UAP were the cause."

The CEFAA staff have their eyes
opened for any effects on air operations that might arise. But this is not the
reason they do the work. They want to learn the nature and origin of the
phenomenon simply because it is a reality that science has not yet explained.
"Around 85 percent of our public believe in the phenomenon, so we have an
obligation to investigate and find out what it is," says Lay. "This should
be reason enough for governments to try and determine the origin. There is no
need to fear panic from the public."

The CEFAA works with its many
counterparts in South America, and has relationships with about a dozen other
countries around the world. Planning is underway for Bermúdez to meet with
officials from the French UFO agency, at the Paris headquarters of the National
Space Studies Center (CNES), the equivalent to our NASA. A formal meeting
between representatives of the CEFAA and the French GEIPAN, the two leading UAP
agencies in the world, has never occurred, and this marks an historic step
toward unifying the effort internationally.

Momentum is building for more
governments to address the UFO problem, and many eyes are on the United States.
Through the smallest change in position, our government has the potential to
play a crucial role in lifting the stigma against research, thereby paving the
way to a possible resolution to the problem.

The Chilean meeting serves as an
example of one country's success in working with the UFO issue at high levels
and its ability to integrate a serious approach throughout the country.